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A MEMOIR 



LOUISA, wtw 

ELDEST DAUGHTER OF T. WINTER, 

PASTOR OF A BAPTIST CHURCH IN BRISTOL, ENGLAND ; 
WHO DIED, JUNE 3, 1829, 

AGED NINE TEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS. 



"Jesus said, Suffer little* cl'iikraen, and forbid them not to 
come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Matt. xix. 14. 



REVISED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION OF THE 
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION 




231)ncititlpi)ta : 



AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, 

NO. 146 CHESTNUT STREET. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836, by Paul Beck, Jr., 
Treasurer, in trust for the American Sunday-school Union, in the Clerk's Office of 
the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



^Wf 



PHEFACE. 



Although parental affection may have 
overlooked some of the defects in her cha- 
racter, it is hoped that this brief account of 
the submission of a dear child to the will 
of God, her patience in affliction, and her 
hope of future blessedness, through the 
merits of the divine Redeemer, are stated 
with Christian fidelity. The design of 
her bereaved parent is not to praise the 
dead, but to benefit the living. 

To encourage parents to command "tneir 
children and households after them, to 
keep the way of the Lord ; and with more 
singleness of heart, and assiduous endea- 
vours to obey the precept, " Train up a 
child in the way he should go," — to sti- 
mulate Sabbath-school teachers to persevere 
1* 5 



b PREFACE. 

in their labours of love, being assured that 
in due time they shall reap if they faint 
not ; — and particularly to show children 
and young persons, that the religion of 
Christ can alone make them happy, both 
in life and in death ; and to assure them, 
that if they seek the Lord Jesus Christ in 
early life, they will find " his ways are 
ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are 
peace;" — this short but imperfect narra- 
tive is published ; accompanied by the fer- 
vent prayer of the writer, " that our sons 
may be as plants grown up in their youth; 
that our daughters may be as corner-stones, 
polished after the similitude of a palace ;" 
being " built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief corner-stone ; in whom all 
the building, fitly framed together, groweth 
unto an holy temple in the Lord." 



MEMOIR 



OF 



LOUISA WINTER. 



Louisa Winter was born Octo- 
ber 25, 1819. Her parents received 
her as a gift from the Lord ; and as 
soon as she uttered the infant cry, 
they committed her to the care of 
Him who took little children in his 
arms and blessed them. 

Though she was a creature of God, 
" fearfully and wonderfully made," 
she was a sinful creature. This was 
soon visible in her bad tempers, and 
in her not always doing what her pa- 



8 MEMOIR OF 

rents desired her to do. She was told, 
that if she was angry and passionate ; 
if she was disobedient to her parents; 
if she was guilty of telling a false- 
hood; if she forgot the Lord, and 
neglected to pray to him and to praise 
him, the great God would be very 
angry with her ; and that if she died 
under his anger, she would, with all 
wicked children, go down to hell, to 
dw T ell with wicked and miserable 
creatures, where she would have no 
mercy, but that she must be tor- 
mented for ever and ever. She soon 
knew that she was a sinner, and that 
sin is the abominable thing that a 
holy God hates ; and when conscious 
that she had done that which was 
evil in the sight of God, she was 



LOUISA AVINTER. 9 

much distressed, and often terrified 
with fearful apprehensions. 

Almost as soon as she could speak, 
she would kneel by the side of her 
mother, and repeat that beautiful 
little hymn composed by Dr. Ryland 
for one of Mr. Fuller's daughters, 
who died in the Lord before she was 
seven years old : — 

11 Lord, teach a little child to pray, 
Thy grace betimes impart ; 
And grant thy Holy Spirit may 
Renew my infant heart." 

It would not satisfy Louisa merely 
to repeat a prayer that she had learn- 
ed ; she asked the Lord to teach her to 
pray. At one time she was distress- 
ed, not knowing whether she should 
pray to the Father, or to the Son, or 
to the Holy Spirit. But the heavenly 



10 MEMOIR OF 

instructor soon taught her to pray to 
God, h£r heavenly Father, through 
Jesus Christ, his dear Son ; looking 
for the assistance of the Holy Spirit. 
And she was convinced she might 
pray, according as she felt her need, 
as the blind man did, when he cried, 
" Jesus, thou Son of David, have mer- 
cy on me :•' or, with the woman of 
Canaan, when she besought the Lord 
for an afflicted daughter, " Lord, help 
me :" or, with the first martyr Ste- 
phen, who died " calling upon God, 
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spi- 
rit/' She would often desire to be 
left alone. When all had withdrawn 
she would sweetly and fervently, 
with an audible voice, pour out her 
soul in prayer to her Heavenly Fa- 



LOUISA WINTER. 11 

ther. She has often been heard to 
pray that the Lord would create in 
her a new heart ; give her true faith 
in Christ Jesus ; wash her in his pre- 
cious blood ;. clothe her in his perfect 
righteousness ; give her patience un- 
der her affliction; and prepare her 
for his heavenly kingdom. In her 
prayers she did not forget her little 
brother and sister ; and her dear pa- 
rents and relations had a share also 
in her supplications at the throne of 
grace. 

When asked on one occasion if 
she enjoyed prayer, she said, " 
yes ; I feel sometimes as though I 
was conversing with the Saviour, 
and I long to be with Christ." She 
often engaged in solemn prayer with 



12 MEMOIR OF 

her brother and sister ; and very 
earnestly exhorted them to pray for 
themselves. She assured them that | 
nothing was prayer in the sight of 
God that did not come from the 
heart : 

"That God abhors the sacrifice, 
Where not the heart is found." 

The concern she manifested for 
them, that they might be new crea- 
tures in Christ Jesus, was an evi- 
dence that she felt the value and 
blessedness of a personal interest in 
the Saviour. She would say that 
she thought she could not die happy 
if they were not converted. One 
day she entreated her mother to tell 
them about the Saviour, and to as- 
sure them that he is the Pearl of 
great price. 



LOUISA WINTER. 13 

In her affliction she was remarka- 
bly fond of reading, and an attempt 
was more than once made, by her 
physician and parents, to prevent 
her from spending so much time 
over her books, lest it should injure 
her. But she would say, " I must 
read, I am sure it does not injure 
me." The Dairyman's Daughter, 
and several other interesting works, 
she read with much satisfaction and 
profit during her confinement to her 
sick room. She was much inte- 
rested and entertained in reading 
through Bunyan's Pilgrims' Pro- 
gress, and it was with deep interest 
and mingled emotions her father 
listened, one Saturday afternoon, to 
her remarks on some of the more 

2 



14 MEMOIR OF 

prominent parts of this book. O ! 
how sweetly did she speak of Chris- 
tian coming to the cross of Christ, 
and of his burden falling into the 
sepulchre of his risen Lord; of the 
difficulties and enemies he had to 
encounter in his way to the celestial 
country ; of the comfort he received 
from Hopeful in passing the river 
Death :— 

Of the kind angels at the gates 

Inviting him to come ; 
Where Jesus, the forerunner, waits, 

To welcome travellers home. 

From a child she knew the Holy 
Scriptures, which were able to make 
her w r ise unto salvation, through 
faith which is in Christ Jesus ; and 
the Holy Bible was her daily compa- 
nion: in it she meditated day and 



LOUISA WINTER. 15 

night. This best of books she read, 
also, to her brother and sister. A short 
time before her death she read to them 
the one hundred and third Psalm 
with great solemnity, and then com- 
mended them in prayer to God, and 
to the word of his grace, who was able 
to build them up, and to give them an 
inheritance among all them that are 
sanctified. At the same time she ex- 
horted them not to forget to read the 
Scriptures for themselves, especially 
not to neglect it at school. 

Several portions of the Bible af- 
forded her much consolation in her 
affliction. She was particularly de- 
lighted with the words of our blessed 
Lord, u Suffer little children, and 
forbid them not, to come unto me, for 



16 MEMOIR OF 

of such is the kingdom of heaven :" 
" I love them that love me, and they 
that seek me early shall find me." 
She was much taken up with that 
passage where our Lord said to Si- 
mon Peter, " Lovest thou me?" and 
with the exhortation Christ gave him, 
to feed his lambs ; and with the kind- 
ness of Christ, who feedeth his flock 
like a shepherd, and gathereth the 
lambs with his arm, and carrieth 
them in his bosom. She spoke fre- 
quently of the wonderful love of 
God, who says, " Come now, and let 
us reason together : though your sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be white as 
snow ; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool :" and of 
the kind invitation cf Jesus, " Come 



LOUISA WINTER. 17 

unto me, all ye that labour and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest" 

It was a mercy to our dear child, 
that she was favoured with an expe- 
rimental acquaintance with the Sa- 
viour before her affliction. She had 
not then a religion to seek, but a re- 
ligion to comfort her. The Lord was 
near her, and in him she found per- 
fect peace. When asked how she 
felt w r ith regard to a future state, 
she said, " I know that Christ is my 
rock. He is the way, the truth, and 
the life." 

Although so frequently engaged 
in reading, in meditation, and in 
prayer, she was conscious that these 
duties are not in the least to be de- 
pended on for salvation, I inquired 

2* 



18 MEMOIR OF 

one day very particularly, on what 
she rested her hope of salvation ; and 
I had the gratification to receive this 
immediate answer, " Christ is my 
rock/ 7 She was again asked if she 
did not think her prayers would do 
something; towards saving- her. In 
reply she said, " I am fully convinced 
that I can be saved only through the 
blood of the Lamb, and my prayer is 
to be washed in that precious blood." 
That beautiful passage was cited, 
" And now abideth faith, hope, and 
charity, these three ; but the greatest 
of these is charity. ' < The question was 
proposed, Which of these graces of 
the Holy Spirit would you rather 
have, my dear? in the full expectation 
she would have said, charity, or love. 



LOUISA WINTER. 19 

But she said Faith, assigning as a 
reason why she preferred faith to 
hope or love, that without faith it 
was impossible to please God, or to 
be loved by Jesus Christ ; but that 
she was sure, if she possessed faith, 
she should possess hope and love 
also ; as they abide together. It is 
evident from this, that her views of 
faith in Christ were scriptural. She 
knew that it is " with the heart man 
belie veth unto righteousness; and 
with the mouth confession is made 
unto salvation." 

It was with painful anxiety that 
her parents and friends witnessed 
her sickness. From the commence- 
ment of her affliction, in December, 
she appears to have had the im- 



wmam^^K^m^mam 



20 MEMOIR OF 

pression that it would be unto death. 
Nor are we aware that she once, 
during her long sickness, expressed a 
desire to live. She more than once 
said, " There is nothing in this world 
but vanity and vexation of spirit ; 
and if I am restored, I hope it will 
be to be useful in the cause of Christ, 
and tha.t I shall be preserved from 
the sins and follies of this life." 
When the question was asked, 
Would you not like to live ? She 
answered, " Just as it may please the 
Lord ; not my will but his be done." 

It affords me pleasure to record 
the opinion of a brother in the mi- 
nistry, who kindly visited her in her 
affliction. He says, — 

" With a melancholy pleasure I 



LOUISA WINTER. 21 

recall the circumstances of my last 
visit to your dear departed child. I 
do not pretend to give the very ex- 
pressions that passed during that in- 
terview, but merely to describe the 
state of her mind, and that by which 
it was produced. It was peaceful and 
serene, though she fully expected to 
die shortly. This tranquillity was 
not the result of a good opinion of 
herself. She had a deep sense of her 
un worthiness in the sight of God, 
and most clearly excluded all hope 
of salvation by her own merit. That 
which prevented despair was a con- 
viction of the worth of the atoning 
sacrifice and justifying righteousness 
of Christ, together with the certainty 
she felt that he would not cast out 



...j L „,mnrnrii numillllW Lllllll II— limn*—— *** *"" 

22 MEMOIR OF 

any poor sinner who shall come to 
him for salvation. He was ' all her 
salvation and all her desire ;' she 
most ardently loved the Saviour, and 
desired to be entirely his, and to be 
disposed of agreeably to his good 
pleasure. Severe and protracted as 
had been her affliction, she mur- 
mured not, — nay, she was grateful 
for it; for she esteemed it far bet- 
ter than health, if attended with 
thoughtlessness. She was willing 
to live, that she might endeavour 
to lead souls to Jesus Christ, and 
spoke of the pleasure it would 
give her to become a Sunday-school 
teacher ; but it was evident she bng- 
ed to depart, to be with Christ. 
The chief attraction of heaven was 



LOUISA WINTER. 23 

Jesus Christ, whom she loved, and 
whom she wished to serve without 
sin : she loved him because he had 
first loved her." 

Her prospects were sometimes 
darkened, and her evidences of an 
interest in Christ obscured; and 
she was often afraid that her heart 
was not right in the sight of God ; 
and instead of saying, " I do love 
Christ," it was, generally, " I hope I 
love him." Thus, although at one 
time she could say, " I know Christ 
is my rock," she was afraid at an- 
other time to say, " I know I love 
Christ." 

One day she w^as exceedingly dis- 
tressed with the fear that Christ 
w r ould not be her refuge and her 



24 MEMOIR OF 

hiding-place in the day of judgment, 
and she said, " O mother, I have been 
so distressed with a fear that Christ 
will say to me, ' Depart, thou cursed, 
into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels :' and I was so 
pained for the moment that I could 
scarcely bear myself. Then I thought 
I could part with all for Christ, and 
that he would say to me, \ Come, 
thou blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for thee from 
the foundation of the world ;' and 
this gave me comfort." In this way 
God imparted strong consolation to 
her : and she was supported with the 
bright hopes of a blessed immortality. 
She was filled with astonishment, 
that " God so loved the world, that 



LOUISA WINTER. 25 

he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." 
And she rejoiced in the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who, " though he 
was rich, yet for our sakes became 
poor, that we, through his poverty, 
might be rich." 

It was delightful to hear her speak 
of the loveliness of the Saviour. In 
her estimation he was " fairer than 
the children of men ; yea, he was al- 
together lovely." In her illness she 
learned and repeated with much 
pleasure the following verses : — 

'Tis Jesus speaks, — how sweet the sound ! 
I am the Rose of Sharon's ground : 
Yes, Saviour, thou art Sharon's Rose, 
Surpassing every flower that blows. 
3 



26 MEMOIR OF 

Thy comeliness and fragrant smell, 
What mortal strains on earth can tell ! 
Here let me make a pleasing stay, 
And pass my blissful hours away. 

Thy peerless beauties shall employ 
My heart, my tongue, my every joy ; 
The Rose of Sharon still shall be 
My song throughout eternity. 

Speaking of the bliss of heaven, 
she said, " There I shall be free from 
sorrow, and from pain, and from sin, 
and shall be constantly praising the 
Lord, in singing the song of Moses 
and of the Lamb." When asked if 
it would not afford her pleasure to 
see her parents in heaven, "Yes, 
(she replied,) but I shall be so 
much taken up in admiring the 
glories of the Saviour, that I shall 



LOUISA WINTER. 27 

not think much about my parents 
then." 

In her affliction, patience had its 
perfect work. In patience she pos- 
sessed her soul. The peace of God, 
that passeth all understanding, sus- 
tained her heart and mind through 
Christ Jesus, under great bodily pain 
and weakness. When she feared she 
was impatient, she was grieved, for 
she knew it was sinful to be impa- 
tient, or to murmur and repine at 
the dealings of the Lord. Her mo- 
ther said to her when she was in 
much pain, " How is it, my dear 
Louisa, you are so calm and com- 
posed in your affliction?" 

" You do not know, mother, half 
I suffer ; but when I am in pain I 



28 MEMOIR OF 

pray to the Lord to give me patience, 
and I think of the great sufferings 
of the Saviour, and this enables me 
to bear it." 

This verse of the poet was to her 
a source of comfort under her suffer- 
ings :— 

44 Jesus, lover of my soul, 

Let me to thy bosom fly ; 
While the raging billows roll, 

While the tempest still is high. 
Hide me, O my Saviour ! hide, 

Till the storm of life is past ; 
Safe into the haven guide ; 

O, receive my soul at last !" 

She always spoke of her affliction 
as a blessed affliction. "It is the 
Lord, let him do what seemeth him 
good. My affliction is very light: 
I have not had one pain too many. 
I would not have been without this 
affliction for all the world." She 



LOUISA WINTER. 29 

could say, with an eminent minister 
of Christ,*— 

" Thus, in darkest dispensations 
Does my gracious Lord appear, 
With his richest consolations, 

To re-animate and cheer : 
Sweet affliction ! sweet affliction ! 
Thus to bring my Saviour near." 

The goodness of the Lord was 
very powerfully felt by her; she 
found him to be " a strong hold in the 
day of trouble/' The sweet enjoy- 
ment of Christ's presence afforded 
her strong consolation, and a good 
hope through grace of the glory of 
God. When supported in the bed, 
and thought to be dying, she looked 
in the face of her weeping parents, 
and said, with a tone of voice that 

*Rev. Samuel Pearce, whose life is published 
by the American Sunday-school Union, 
3* 



30 MEMOIR OF 

will never be forgotten, " The Lord 
is very good to me." 

Between ten and eleven o'clock in 
the night before she departed, she 
requested the friends in the room to 
leave it, saying, " Father will stay 
with me." When the door was 
shut, she desired him to pray with 
her. In prayer she was very devout, 
and appeared greatly to enjoy com- 
munion with God. She then said, 
" Father, read me a psalm." " What 
psalm, my love ?" " Read the fifty- 
first, if you please." And then she 
expressed a hope that the Lord had 
created in her a new heart, and re- 
newed a right spirit within her. 

Soon after she spoke again of the 
Divine goodness; and about four 



LOUISA WINTER. 31 

o'clock in the morning, June third, 
her happy spirit took its leave of 
earth without a struggle ; and some 
kind angel conducted her, we trust, 
into the presence of her Saviour, 
" where there is fulness of joy, and 
to a seat at his right hand, where 
there are pleasures for evermore." 

There will she bathe her weary soul 

In seas of heavenly rest, 
And not a wave of trouble roll 

Across her peaceful breast. 
Millions of years her wondering eyes, 

Will o'er his beauties rove, 
And, endless ages, she'll adore 

The blest Redeemer's love. 

My dear children and young 
friends, I have not written the short 
account of this child to exalt her, but 
to show you what the grace of God 
did for her. Out of the mouth of 



32 MEMOIR OF 

this child the Lord hath perfected 
praise. She hath " obtained redemp- 
tion through the blood of Jesus 
Christ, even the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of his grace." 
" Not unto us, not unto us, but unto 
thy name give glory, for thy mercy 
and for thy truth's sake." 

As it pleased the Lord to take 
Louisa away from this world in the 
tenth year of her age, you should 
remember that you are not too young 
to die. Many of you are quite as 
old as she was, and some of you are 
much older. A few months ago she 
was as likely to live as you are. 
You should not therefore suppose, 
because you are in health, that death 
is at a great distance from you, for it 



LOUISA WINTER. 33 

may be near, much nearer than you 
think ; therefore boast not of to-mor- 
row, for you know not what a day 
may bring forth. " Be ye also ready : 
for in such an hour as ye think not, 
the Son of man cometh." 

Louisa felt the importance of 
prayer, and of faith in Christ. You 
are not too young to pray, and to 
believe on the Son of God. Faith 
is the gift of God. If you ask him, 
in earnest prayer, to bestow this 
gift on you, he will graciously grant 
your request. You should not be 
satisfied with repeating a prayer you 
have learnt, but you should go into 
some private place, and with since- 
rity and earnestness ask the Lord to 
teach you to pray, and then you 



34 MEMOIR OF 

should make known to him the de- 
sires of your heart. Let the com- 
mand of the Divine Redeemer en- 
courage you to do this : " But thou, 
when thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and when thou hast shut the 
door, pray to thy Father which is in 
secret, and thy Father which seeth 
in secret shall reward thee openly." 
The great and good Shepherd 
took this little lamb into his fold, 
gathering her with his arm, and he 
kindly carried her in his bosom. 
This he did because he loved her. 
In return, she loved him more than 
she loved her parents, or her brother, 
or sister, or friends, dear as they 
were to her. You, also, should give 
Christ the chief place in your affec- 



LOUISA AVINTER. 35 

tions. He is worthy of your high- 
est love. If you love him, you will 
serve him; and serving him, you 
will have your " fruit unto holiness, 
and the end everlasting life." 

Louisa was happy in affliction, 
and she was not afraid to die. She 
could say, " Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil, for thou art 
with me ; thy rod and thy staff they 
comfort me." " When my father 
and my mother forsake me, then the 
Lord shall take me up." She felt 
assured that it is far better to depart, 
and to be with Christ. If you seek 
the Saviour, and build upon him as 
your rock, he will guide you with 
his counsel through life, sustain and 



36 LOUISA WINTER. 

comfort you with his Spirit in afflic- 
tion and death, and bless you with 
an abundant entrance into his ever- 
lasting kingdom. 



THE END. 



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